1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to preheating a spindle motor of a hard disk drive.
2. Background Information
Hard disk drives contain a plurality of magnetic heads that are coupled to rotating disks. The heads write and read information by magnetizing and sensing the magnetic fields of the disk surfaces. Each head is attached to a flexure arm to create a subassembly commonly referred to as a head gimbal assembly (“HGA”). The HGA's are suspended from an actuator arm. The actuator arm has a voice coil motor that can move the heads across the surfaces of the disks.
The disks are rotated by a spindle motor of the drive. Rotation of the disks creates an air flow within the disk drive. Each head has an air bearing surface that cooperates with the air flow to create an air bearing between the head and the adjacent disk surface. The air bearing eliminates or minimizes the mechanical wear between the head and the disk. Rotation of the disk also allows for access to data located across the disk surfaces.
Hard disk drives may be used in systems, such as automobiles, that are exposed to relatively low temperatures. For example, automobiles may include a disk drive. Automobiles can be exposed to extreme ambient temperatures. The spindle motor of a disk drive typically has some type of fluid bearing. At very low temperatures the fluid bearing may be to stiff to allow for proper actuation of the spindle motor.